Spare tire and wheel carrier for pick-up trucks

ABSTRACT

A spare tire and wheel carrier for a pick-up truck which includes a cross member pivotally mounted at its upper ends to the vehicle frame. A longitudinal center member having an inner end fixed to the cross member and an outer end releasably locked to the vehicle frame.

iJnited States Patent [191 Hrivnyalk ay 29, 1973 [54] SPARE TIRE ANDWHEEL CARRIER 2,777,591 1 1957 Manzatuik ..214 451 FOR PICKJJP TRUCKS3,620,396 11/1971 Abfalter ..214/454 3,494,493 2/1970 Fowler ..214/454[76] Inventor: John Hrivnyak, 2055 Harvard,

Berkley Mich 48072 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza 22 i 13 1971Assistant Examiner-John Mannix Attorney-Donnelly, Mentag & Harrington[21] Appl. No.: 171,465

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl ..214/454 A Spare tire and wheel carrier for apick up truck [51] Int. Cl. ..]B62d 43/00 which includes a cross memberpivotauy moumed at [58] Field of Search ..2l4/451,452, 453, it u r endsto the vehicle frame A longitudinal 214/454 center member having aninner end fixed to the cross member and an outer end releasably lockedto the [56] References Cited Vehicle frame- UNITED STATES PATENTS 5Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 2,645,394 7/1953 Bord ..2l4/454 a 11 I2 IPATENTEDMYEQW 3,736,883

SHEET- 1 OF 2 MWZ EQ ATTORNEYS PATLNHMAYZQIQB SHEET 2 [IF 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS FOR PICK-UP SUWARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates toa tire and wheel carrier for vehicles such as a pick-up truck.

I-Ieretofore, it has been common practice to provide pick-up trucks andthe like with a spare tire and wheel carrier which is disposed beneaththe rear end of the vehicle and attached to the vehicle frame members insuch a position, whereby it requires a person to put forth a greateffort from an awkward position from under the truck to load a tire intothe carrier, and to remove a tire therefrom. Accordingly, it is anobject of the present invention to provide a novel and improved sparetire and wheel carrier which overcomes the disadvantages of the priorart spare tire and wheel carriers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a spare tireand wheel carrier which is simple and compact in construction,economical to manufacture and efficient in operation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sparetire and wheel carrier for avehicle having a frame, and which comprises,a transversely disposed supporting cross member, a longitudinallydisposed center supporting member having its inner end secured to thecross member at a central point on the cross member, brace means mountedbetween said cross member and said longitudinal central member, a hangermeans on each end of said cross member with the upper ends of eachhanger means being fixedly secured to the vehicle frame, means pivotallymounting the outer ends of the cross member on the lower ends of saidhanger means, and, means operatively mounted on said vehicle for areleasable locking engagement with the outer end of said longitudinalcenter member to retain the spare tire carrier in a transportingposition.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will beapparent from the following detailed description, appended claims, andthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevational view of aspare tire carrier made in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. I, takenalong the line 2-2 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, elevational, section view of the structureillustrated in FIG. I, taken along the line 3--3 thereof, and looking inthe direction of the arrows.

FIG. I is a fragmentary, broken, elevational view, partly in section, ofthe structure illustrated in FIG. I, taken along the line 4-4 thereof,and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged, horizontal section view of thestructure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken along the line 5--5 thereof, andlooking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, enlarged, plan view of the structureillustrated in FIG. I, taken along the line 6-6 thereof, and looking inthe direction of the arrows.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. d and showing a modification of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is a framnentary, top plan view of another modification of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EWOIDIMEN'IS Referring now to the drawings,and in particular to FIGS. I and 2, the numerals I0 and II generallydesignate the usual, spaced apart, longitudinal vehicle frame memberswhich are illustrated as being channel shaped in cross section. Thenumerals I2 and I3 generally designate a pair of conventional transversevehicle frame channel members which have their ends slidably mountedwithin the longitudinal channel members 10 and II and as which aresecured thereto, by any suitable means, as by welding. The numeral I4generally designates a spare tire and wheel for a vehicle, such a apick-up truck, which is adapted to be held in the solid line positionshown in FIG. I for transporting purposes. The numeral I4la shows thetire and wheel in broken lines in a lowered position where it may beloaded onto a unloaded from the spare tire and wheel carrier of thepresent invention.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spare tire carrier of the presentinvention includes a transversely extending cross frame member I5 whichis welded at the center thereof to the underside of the inner end of alongitudinally extended center bar, generally indicated by the numeralI6. The longitudinal center bar I6 includes an inner end portion 23which is welded to the cross frame member I5, as indicated by thenumerals 26 in FIG. 2. An upwardly extended stop flange member 25 isintegrally formed on the inner end of the center bar inner portion 23,as shown in FIG. I. The outer end portion of the center bar 16 isindicated in FIGS. I and 2 by the numeral 22, and it is bent upwardly soas to form an obtuse angle between the center bar portions 22 and 23.

The center bar portion 23 is provided with an upwardly protrudingstrength bead M which is formed by expanding the longitudinal centerportion of the center bar portion 23 upwardly. The center portion I7 ofthe cross frame member I5 is also expanded upwardly to form the twostrength beads IS on each side of the center bar portion 23, as shown inFIG. 2. A pair of brace bars 27 and 26 are disposed on opposite sides ofthe center bar portion 23. As shown in FIG. 2, the front ends of thebrace bars 27 are secured to the front end of the center bar portion 23by any suitable means, as by welding. The rear ends of the brace bars 27and 28 are secured to the cross frame member 15 by any suitable means,as by welding. The brace bars 27 and 28 are disposed at acute anglesrelative to the center bar portion 23. It will be seen that the crossframe member I5 and the longitudinal center bar 16 form a crossshapedtire and wheel carrier means which is provided with the angularlydisposed side brace bars 27 and 23.

As shown in FIGS. I, 2 and 3, the outer ends of the cross member 15 arefixedly secured to the vehicle frame channels by similar means and thecorresponding parts have been marked with the same reference numerals.As best seen in FIG. 41, the outer ends of the cross frame member I5 arestepped so as to provide a central portion 17 with intem'al vertical legportions I9 to which are integally attached at the upper ends thereofhorizontally extended end flanges 20. Each of the end flanges 20 ispivotally secured to the vehicle frame channels by the followingdescribed structure.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a hanger bolt 29 is fixedly connected to eachof the outer ends of the transverse channel 13. The bolts 29 extendupwardly through the lower flanges 31 of the longitudinal channelmembers and 11 and through the lower flanges 30 of the transversechannel 13. The bolts 29 are secured in a suitable vertically adjustedposition by any suitable means, as by a pair of lock nuts 32. Asillustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower ends of each of the hanger bolts29 extend through suitable elongated holes 33 formed in the cross memberhorizontal end flanges 20. The elongated holes 33 are disposed withtheir longest dimension in alignment with the longitudinal direction ofthe vehicle channel members 10 and 11 to permit the longitudinal centermember 16 to be pivoted upwardly and downwardly about the lower ends ofthe bolts 29. A suitable rubber washer, such as a grommet 34, isdisposed in each of the elongated holes 33 in the cross member flanges20, and these grommets 34 are each provided with an elongated opening orhole 35 through which a hanger bolt 39 extends. The lower end of each ofthe bolts 29 is provided with the usual bolt head 36. As best seen inFIG. 4, a washer 37 is disposed between each bolt head 36 and the lowerend of each grommet 34.

It will be seen that the spare tire and wheel support structure issubstantially shaped in the form of a cross, and that it may be pivotedfrom an upward locked position, shown by solid lines in FIG. 1, to adownward loading an d unloading position, indicated by the broken lineposition in FIG. 1. The pivoting action of the tire and wheel supportstructure is provided by the pivoting of the structure relative to thehanger bolts 29 because of the elongated holes 35 in the grommets 34.The grommets 34 also reduce noise and rattling during normal tirestorage use.

The outer end of the center bar portion 22 is adapted to be latched inplace by the following described latch hanger and locking means. As bestseen in FIG. 6, an elongated slot 41 is formed through the center barportion 22 adjacent its outer end. A circular hole 40 is also formed inthe center bar portion 22 and it communicates with the inner end of theslot 41 to form a keyshaped opening. A locking spring rod, generallyindicated by the numeral 42, is adapted to co-act with the hole 40 andthe slot 41 for releasably securing the tire and wheel support structurein the locked and transporting solid-line position, as illustrated inFIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the locking spring rod 42 includes a verticalportion 43 and an integral upper horizontal arm 44. The outer end of thearm 44 is extended through a suitable hole in the usual rear panel 45 ofa vehicle, and it is secured in place by any suitable means, as by apair of lock nuts 46. When the locking rod 42 is in the releasedposition, it springs forwardly of the vehicle to the dotted lineposition shown in FIG. 1.

lntegrally formed on the lower end of the downwardly extended verticalleg portion of the rod 42 is an enlarged head 47 through which is formeda hole 48 for the reception of a suitable lock for locking the tire andwheel carrier in the transporting solid line position of FIG. 1. FIGS.1, 2, 3 and 6 illustrate the locking spring rod snapped into the lockedposition. In order to lock the tire carrier in the transportingposition, the center bar 16 is moved upwardly and the enlarged head 47is moved downwardly through the round hole 40. The rod portion 43 isthen manually grasped and snapped forward so as to move the rod portion43 into the slot 41. The weight of the spare tire carrier then actsdownwardly by gravity to hold the locking spring rod 42 in the solidline position shown in FIG. 1. A suitable lock may then be insertedthrough the hole 48 to prevent against theft and to secure the sparetire and wheel carrier in the transporting position. The rods 42 may becoated wth a sound deadening material, if desired.

FIG. 7 illustrates a modification of the invention, and the partsthereof which correspond to the parts of the first embodiment of FIGS. 1through 4 have been marked with the same reference numerals followed bythe small letter a. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the transverselyextending cross frame member 15a is formed flat and it is not stepped asin the first embodiment of FIG. 4. The embodiment of FIG. 7 functions inthe same manner as the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4, with theexception that the hanger bolts 29a will be substantially longer. Theembodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4 could be used with shorter hanger bolts29.

FIG. 8 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention in which theouter ends of the cross member 15b are secured directly to a vehicletransverse channel member, as 13b instead of to both the transversechannel member and the longitudinal channel member. The cross member 15bis illustrated as being of the type shown in FIG. 7. However, it will beunderstood that it may also be of the stepped construction as shown inFIG. 4. The parts of the embodiment of FIG. 8 which are the same as thefirst embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4 have been marked with the samereference numerals, followed by the small letter b. The embodiment ofFIG. 8 fimctions in the same manner as the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through4.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of theinvention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objectsabove stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptibleto modification, variation and change.

What I claim is: 1. A spare tire and wheel carrier for a vehicle havinga frame, comprising:

a. a transversely disposed supporting cross member;

b. a longitudinally disposed center supporting member having its innerend secured to the cross member at a central point on the cross member;

0. brace means mounted between said cross member and said longitudinalcentral member;

d. a hanger means on each end of said cross member with the upper endsof each hanger means being furedly secured to the vehicle frame;

e. means pivotally mounting the outer ends of the cross member on thelower ends of said hanger means;

f. means operatively mounted on said vehicle for a releasable lockingengagement with the outer end of said longitudinal center member toretain the spare tire carrier in a transporting position;

g. said means pivotally mounting the outer ends of the cross member onthe lower ends of said hanger means, including,

1. said cross member being provided on each of its outer ends iwth anelongated opening which is disposed with its longest dimensionlongitudinally of the vehicle; and,

2. each of said hanger means including a hanger bolt having its lowerend extended through one of said elongated holes and provided with meansfor supporting one of the ends of the cross member; and,

h. grommet means operatively mounted in each of said elongated holes andsurrounding the hanger bolt extended through said hole.

2. A spare tire and wheel carrier as defined in claim ll, including:

a. a retainer flange formed on the inner end of the longitudinal centermember.

3. A spare tire and wheel carrier for a vehicle having a frame,comprising:

a. a transversely disposed supporting cross member;

b. a longitudinally disposed center supporting member having its innerend secured to the cross member at a central point on the cross member;

c. brace means mounted between said cross member and said longitudinalcentral member;

d. a hanger means on each end of said .cross member with the upper endsof each hanger means being fixedly secured to the vehicle frame;

e. means pivotally mounting the outer ends of the cross member on thelower ends of said hanger means; and,

f. means operatively mounted on said vehicle for a releasable lockingengagement with the outer end of said longitudinal center member toretain the spare tire carrier in a transporting position, includmg,

l. a spring rod having its upper end secured to the vehicle and itslower end extended downwardly and adapted to spring long'tudinallyforward of the vehicle in a free state; and,

2. said longitudinal center member being provided with a key-shapedopening through which said downwardly extended member may be pmoved andsnapped into a locked position.

4. A spare tire and wheel carrier as defined in claim 3 wherein:

a. said spring rod is provided with an enlarged head on its lower endwhich is adapted to be extended through the large end of the key shapedopening and then moved toward the outer end of the longitudinal centermember so as to move the spring rod into the narrow portion of the keyshaped opening, whereby the longitudinal center member is then moveddownwardly by gravity into a locked seating position on the upper end ofsaid enlarged head.

5. A spare tire and wheel carrier as defined in claim 3, wherein saidmeans pivotally mounting the outer ends of the cross member on the lowerends of said hanger means, includes:

a. said cross member being provided on each of its outer ends with anelongated opening which is dis posed with its longest dimensionlongitudinally of the vehicle; and,

b. each of said hanger means including a hanger bolt having its lowerend extended through one of said elongated holes and provided with meansfor supporting one of the ends of the cross member.

=l =l= =l =l

1. A spare tire and wheel carrier for a vehicle having a frame,comprising: a. a transversely disposed supporting cross member; b. alongitudinally disposed center supporting member having its inner endsecured to the cross member at a central point on the cross member; c.brace means mounted between said cross member and said longitudinalcentral member; d. a hanger means on each end of said cross member withthe upper ends of each hanger means being fixedly secured to the vehicleframe; e. means pivotally mounting the outer ends of the cross member onthe lower ends of said hanger means; f. means operatively mounted onsaid vehicle for a releasable locking engagement with the outer end ofsaid longitudinal center member to retain the spare tire carrier in atransporting position; g. said means pivotally mounting the outer endsof the cross member on the lower ends of said hanger means,including,
 1. said cross member being provided on each of its outer endswith an elongated opening which is disposed with its longest dimensionlongitudinally of the vehicle; and,
 2. each of said hanger meansincluding a hanger bolt having its lower end extended through one ofsaid elongated holes and provided with means for supporting one of theends of the cross member; and, h. grommet means operatively mounted ineach of said elongated holes and surrounding the hanger bolt extendedthrough said hole.
 2. each of said hanger means including a hanger bolthaving its lower end extended through one of said elongated holes andprovided with means for supporting one of the ends of the cross member;and, h. grommet means operatively mounted in each of said elongatedholes and surrounding the hanger bolt extended through said hole.
 2. Aspare tire and wheel carrier as defined in claim 1, including: a. aretainer flange formed on the inner end of the longitudinal centermember.
 2. said longitudinal center member being provided with akey-shaped opening through which said downwardly extended member may bemoved and snapped into a locked position.
 3. A spare tire and wheelcarrier for a vehicle having a frame, comprising: a. a transverselydisposed supporting cross member; b. a longitudinally disposed centersupporting member having its inner end secured to the cross member at acentral point on the cross member; c. brace means mounted between saidcross member and said longitudinal central member; d. a hanger means oneach end of said cross member with the upper ends of each hanger meansbeing fixedly secured to the vehicle frame; e. means pivotally mountingthe outer ends of the cross member on the lower ends of said hangermeans; and, f. means operatively mounted on said vehicle for areleasable locking engagement with the outer end of said longitudinalcenter member to retain the spare tire carrier in a transportingposition, including,
 4. A spare tire and wheel carrier as defined inclaim 3 wherein: a. said spring rod is provided with an enlarged head onits lower end which is adapted to be extended through the large end ofthe key shaped opening and then moved toward the outer end of thelongitudinal cenTer member so as to move the spring rod into the narrowportion of the key shaped opening, whereby the longitudinal centermember is then moved downwardly by gravity into a locked seatingposition on the upper end of said enlarged head.
 5. A spare tire andwheel carrier as defined in claim 3, wherein said means pivotallymounting the outer ends of the cross member on the lower ends of saidhanger means, includes: a. said cross member being provided on each ofits outer ends with an elongated opening which is disposed with itslongest dimension longitudinally of the vehicle; and, b. each of saidhanger means including a hanger bolt having its lower end extendedthrough one of said elongated holes and provided with means forsupporting one of the ends of the cross member.